9.26.2013

Planning a trip is fun:) I was so excited to be heading out on a weeklong vacation with my sweet hubby but had yet to think about all the details that needed to be taken care of before we left. Beach, sand, and sun clouded my mind. We didn't actually plan and book our trip until July (to leave the first week in September), but we knew we wanted to go somewhere late summer, so I started to prepare myself around the first of May by pumping and freezing as much milk as I could. From the time the girls were born up until that point I was only able to pump as much milk to provide for them that next day. In hopes to increase my milk supply to be able to start storing, I added in another pump session before bed every night. In the beginning I was only getting a few ounces- maybe 2 or 3. Within the end of the month I was pumping enough to be able to store some for while we were gone.

By the time we were set to leave for Mexico I had stored 240 ounces of milk. That was enough for each baby to have 4 ounces in each bottle, 5 times a day for 6 days. This meant that the girls would be getting 2 ounces of formula in each bottle to make up for what I was lacking in the stored milk. I ended up purchasing Gerber Good Start and the girls tolerated it well! They haven't had formula since they were 3-4 weeks old when we were supplementing while my milk supply was coming in, so I was nervous on how they would react to the change. If I could have saved a 6 ounce storage bag of milk every single day I would have ended up with plenty- but its not a perfect world and I was only able to save a handful of bags a week. Nothing wrong with a little formula supplementation when needed:)

Although I was ready for some time away, I became so stressed about making sure I was able to provide enough for the girls while I was without them, as well as pumping and traveling. I started researching and reaching out to other momma's in my community (if you have an Instagram account- I highly recommend following @askthemamas. They are such an AMAZING community of women that offer advice and answer questions that so many of us have. I submitted a question about pumping and traveling with my expressed milk and got a lot of great feedback.)

Finally I came up with what I thought was a great plan for while we were away. Making a list (actually multiple lists..) kept me sane when planning for all that I was taking along with me.

Ice packs (I brought 2 and kept them in the freezer part of the mini fridge in our room)

1-2 cooler bags

Nursing cape for pumping in public (I totally forgot about this one!)

*Note: The 8 ounce bottles will hold up to 11 ounces and the 5 ounce bottles will hold up to 7 ounces when filled to the spout. The 32 ounce water bottles will hole up to 35 ounces when filled to the spout.

I also brought some of the pump wipes for quick clean up after a pump session. The water in Mexico is not potable, so I made sure to rinse out my pump accessories and bottles with bottled water provided.

While we were away I pumped 4 times a day: first thing in the morning (7am-8am), lunch time (anywhere between 11am and 1pm), before dinner (between 5:30p and 6:30pm, and last before bed (around 11pm). Since I knew it was not realistic to save every last ounce of milk I expressed, and as much as I hated the thought of 'wasting' the liquid gold I had produced, I pumped and dumped twice a day. Occasionally I would have a couple drinks during the day while we were laying by the pool, so I opted not to save that milk. I know that I am able to drink and still provide safe milk, but since I would have more than one drink over the course of a couple hours, it wasn't worth it to me to save it. Plus- I didn't come with enough space for storage of 400 ounces of breast milk! SO- it was my justification for pouring it out and feeling ok about it:)

For reference: If you're going to enjoy an occasional alcoholic beverage, keep in mind that it takes two to three hours for your body to eliminate the alcohol in one serving of beer or wine. Specific time frames depend on your size and how much you drink, but the more you drink the longer it takes your body to get rid of it. Like some would think, alcohol isn't stored in breast milk – instead, the level increases and decreases just as it does in your bloodstream. The rule of thumb: If you have an alcoholic drink, wait at least two hours before breastfeeding your baby.

The milk I did store, I poured into the sports bottles first and then started to fill the smaller bottles. By the end of our trip I was able to store about 200 ounces of milk.

Before heading out of town I checked to confirm the standards for traveling with breastmilk/formula on the TSA website. You can find the TSA standards for carrying on breast milk (formula and juice) to the plane here. In the states, parents flying with, and without, their child(ren) are permitted to bring breast milk in quantities greater than three ounces as long as it is presented for inspection at the security checkpoint. Additionally, empty bottles and ice packs are permitted under these conditions.

Even though I was confident with what the website stated, I felt less that confident as we approached the security check point in Cancun. I came to realize very quickly that even though the TSA website said I could travel with my milk onto the plane, Mexico's airport security was claiming differently. The security attendants continued to asked me where my babies were and why I was carrying milk if I wasn't traveling with them. I was so confused and for half a second I thought they were going to make me dump all 200 ounces of milk I had packed to bring home. There was a terrible language barrier, but finally they allowed me to walk out of the line and head back to luggage check to have them stow my milk under the plane.

Realizing that there was no way my milk was going to be safe for consumption after being under the plane for 3 hours, I asked a vendor in the air port for some ice- and the employee graciously obliged my request! Such a blessing!

Since the milk was in an actual cooler bag, I purchased a bag from a little convenience shop and then had the Secure Wrap man do his work to keep the cold in as long as possible

..and then I checked my little blue ball-o-milk.

After explaining to the baggage attendants what the dilemma was and why I needed to check another bag.. and please don't charge me for my second checked bag, they were very nice and allowed it, no questions asked. As stressed as I was for about 10 minutes- everyone was so very helpful and didn't mind my requests for assistance one bit. They could probably tell the desperate look on my face- and to not upset this mama bear.

One last pump before boarding the plane! I completely forgot to grab my nursing cap before heading out of town and was thankful I tend to carry a cardigan everywhere I go. There was an outlet in an empty terminal, so I took advantage of the semi-private area before getting on a 2 1/2 hour flight home.

The milk made it home safely, intact, and COLD! Thank you Haagen-Dazs man! The girls drank this milk for the week after we were home (it is good for 8 days in the fridge). I started with the first pumped milk and ended with the most recent pumped. Anything I pumped that week after we got home I stored in the freezer for another time.

I have not noticed a drop in my supply or anything like that because we were gone. That was probably my biggest fear in planning a trip away from the girls. I was also fearful that they would forget and have no interest in nursing after being away from them for 6 days.

9.24.2013

While Jordan and I were in Mexico, Parker and Jolie had their own fun while Momma and Daddy were away!

Tuesday through Friday morning Jordan's parents (BB and Poppa) took care of the girls. Jordan's mom watches the girls during the day a couple times a week, so I'm sure it came easy for her with watching the both of them.

While we were gone, Bree made sure to email and post pictures to Instagram so we could see our sweet baby girls' faces. We were able to FaceTime some, but the WiFi connection at the hotel wasn't good enough to really hold a good connection. So we settled for silly pictures about a million times a day- my only demand;)

Fun in the bath! The guest bath has become the girls' bathroom and it has a standard tub/shower combo- but our master has the jetted tub and we have yet to put them in it yet. Parker and Jolie were extra spoiled and got to get their spa day on in BB and Poppa's bug bathtub!

Parker is so funny. She doesn't mind one bit having anything on her head (from bows to hats and the hooded towels). She will leave it whatever it is on forever, until you actually remove it. Kinda like this wash cloth.

Bath hair:)

They played..

and got into things:)

Halfway through the week I saw this picture posted on IG. This is Sernie, Bree's grandmother. That would be Jordan's great grandmother and now Parker and Jolie's great GREAT grandmother. Thats TWO greats, folks. I adore this woman and she hadn't seen the girls since they were about 4 or 5 months old. I was so glad Bree made time to take the girls over for a visit.

This picture melts my heart. Jolie is blowin' and goin' 100% of the time and even I, her own mother, has yet to have her pass out in my arms midday- and here is her sweet Sernie pulling out her magic grandmomma tricks.

love it.

Friday afternoon, Ashley picked up the girls from BB's house and her and Jarrett took care of them from Friday-Sunday. Parker and Jolie have spent plenty of time with these two and in their home, so this was no unfamiliar place for them to visit.

Jarrett learned how to rise with the sun that weekend:) But nothing some good snuggling couldn't handle.

Layla love was extra careful with these littles. The girls, of course, were obsessed with her and watched her intently through the back door.

They went on 'family' walks

They used Uncle J as a jungle gym. Parker is attempting a round off back handspring in this photo.

9.23.2013

Its been about three years since Jordan and I went on a real trip some where.. (i.e. the beach) and almost 4 years since we have done anything just the two of us. We usually try and plan a fun trip once a year, but these last couple have been short weekend trips here and there. When we found out I was pregnant last year we for sure wanted to plan a 'babymoon' for just the two of us..but oh, by the way, you are having twins. And with that goes bed rest at 24 weeks.

Throw in buying a house and moving just two weeks before I was scheduled to stop working.. yea, we never got around to that trip.

So- this year we jumped to the opportunity to take a vacation just the two of us- 6 whole days of sleeping in (until 7:30am!), lounging, and relaxing at our leisure.

We left on a Tuesday morning after dropping these little bits off with their BB and Poppa.

It takes A LOT to travel with twins. And being able to think of every last thing they could possibly need while we were gone? Definitely a proud momma moment.

Emotionally, I was fine all morning- even getting a little excited about heading down to Mexico and having a cold margarita! Pulling away from Jordan's parent's house with Parker and Jolie waving from the porch, I still didn't get choked up.

It was taking this picture just before take-off and sending it to Jordan's mom to show the girls and wish them well that set me off. We were really leaving them. This was my first time to ever be away for longer than a few hours.. and never had I ever been without them overnight. I was a sobbing mess through take off, and somehow I pulled it together to enjoy the rest of the flight.

We landed on Tuesday afternoon around lunchtime with plenty of time to throw on our suits and hit the beach (..and who are we kidding.. the bar! Hellooooo all-inclusive!)

Everything was beautiful! We stayed at the RIU Palace Riviera Maya and it was perfection. Three years ago we stayed at the RIU Mexico just up the road and had a blast, and since we knew the resort well from the past, we opted to go with the RIU once again.

The weather was a warm 80-90 degrees the entire time we were there. It stormed a little in the morning on our second day- and we took advantage of the short lived cloudy skies and enjoyed a 90 minutes massage. Yes, folks. nine - zero. It was amazing and warranted a few unintentional snores out of both Jordan and me.

We basically did this the entire time- nothing. We made reservations at a few of the restaurants but ended up deciding that we didn't want to mess with the sit down dinners every night- so we ate at the buffet style restaurant, which was delicious!

I could totally get used to this.

When you go on vacation with just the two of you, you end up taking a lot of selfies.

When you opt to ask someone for help, and that someone doesn't speak very good English, and clearly does not have an smart phone, they video you for all 6 pictures you make them take..

O-well. Shameless selfies it is!

My favorite. We were having so much fun!

On the last night while getting ready for dinner, I got really homesick. I really missed my girls. I really missed my bed. I really missed my hair holding curl for longer than 7 minutes. I really missed peanut butter (yea, they had no peanut butter!).. and I really missed potable water.

As much fun as we were both having together, we were ready to be home. Being at the beach made me excited to take Parker and Jolie to the beach next summer. Probably not to Mexico (although there were a TON of families at the resort) but somewhere in the states. Any suggestions?

Checking out and heading to the airport! I was elated to see my baby girls.. and eat some peanut butter toast.

While we were gone, the littles had a vacation adventure of their own:) Stay tuned to see what they were up to while Momma and Daddy were away!

9.21.2013

As late as I am for this post (total momma fail, for sure), I half way contemplated combining months 9 and 10 into one long post (I'll spare you..) but in the end I couldn't bring myself to actually do that because so many exciting milestones have happened in this last month!

At the girls' nine month appointment (9/9) they weighed in at nearly the same amount.

Parker weighs 16 pounds 12 ounces and Jolie is 16 pounds 2 ounces. Good news for little bit Jolie Grace as she has grown tremendously since Dr. Butler saw her last. Miss Parker on the other hand dropped a little on the growth chart. I was so sad to hear this, but Dr. B reassured me that she looked perfect and so she wasn't so concerned about this slight drop for her. A drop in mere ounces can make all the difference when it comes to maintaining that growth chart curve- and the fact that Parker had literally come off a 10 day vacation of altered eating habits without momma or dad (store bought baby food, some formula supplementation) she could have made the change then. Parker is definitely the picky eater of the two. If one little thing is off (texture, temperature, too sweet, too bitter, air bubbles) she's done done. And there is littler encouragement to get her to finish.

Both babies continue to wear size 2 diapers- and they are filling them perfectly these days. Size 6 months in onesies, rompers, shirts, and jammies- mostly for the length. Size 3 month dresses and shorts will still fit them well, except Jolie's thighs are almost making them too tight for comfort. I've started to make small purchases here and there for the next size up, but it is so hard to gauge when they will actually wear the larger sizes- they have stayed in smaller clothes for much longer than a typical infant at their age. Thinking about Halloween and their birthday.. what size should I purchase for those outfits?

Parker is still long and lean while Jolie is short and round as all get out. That baby has some thighs that are rock solid. I absolutely adore their differences.

What's New

Everything! Number one on that list- TEETH! Thats right- after 3 months of anticipation, those babies finally broke the gums. August 23rd marked the date for Parker to get her first two teeth- front bottom (and from my understanding those are usually the first for most infants) and Jolie's finally came in (finally) two days later on August 25th. Two babies, four teeth, one weekend. To tell you the honest truth- they were completely fine that entire weekend- not really fussing, no fever, no crying, no sleepless nights.. the actual teeth breaking event was harmless. It was the after that marked for the worse. The following weekend entailed of three solid days/nights of crying, fever, and bloody gums. Thats right, bloody. Poor baby Jolie would nurse and as a result would drawn blood. Thankfully the bad and the ugly of teething was over in a short time- until next time. Awesome.

These movers and shakers are all over the place and we've learned a whole new meaning to 'baby proofing'. The girls have seemed to find every little outlet, hole, cord, knob..anything and everything. I feeling like I follow behind them with bubble wrap and safety plugs to make sure I haven't missed anything they could get into and hurt themselves with. I did find an outlet in my kitchen I hadn't a clue was there before miss Parker decided she wanted to attempt to fit her little finger into it. Looking back at their 8 month post, I can't believe how just 4 short weeks can make such a difference in baby land. The girls are very skilled at getting around now, cruising around the furniture and pulling up onto anything and everything they can get a grip on (daddy's leg hair included!) Parker is a little speed racer and can crawl so quickly across the room- before you realize it, she's gone. Our little foreheads are staying clear of those opportunities for bumps and bruises, which is much better than having to explain- "Yes, they are twins. Yes, two girls, and yes, she had a bruise on her face."

We absolutely ADORE bath time and get so excited when we hear daddy getting the water ready in preparation for our night time routine. They play so hard together in the bath, and have gotten better at tolerating the water being poured over their heads and getting a good rub down from momma and dad. Jordan and I have actually started to bathe them as a team because we have such fun watching them be silly in the bath before bed.

The toy envy that started a couple months back has occasionally turned into a full out brawl. Parker will start swinging her arms and yelling at the top of her little lungs when she sees Jolie coming in for the kill to steal whatever she's got her eye on in Parkers hands. Even with that being said- they still have so much fun playing together. They will stand and play together at the music table, and even trade toys back and forth. Its amazing to watch their engagement with one another and how well they can comprehend things at this age.

Jordan and I decided that Parker and Jolie now have real understanding of who 'mum-ma' and 'da-da' are and whether wining or being silly will say it in reference to who they are looking at (or wanting to be held by for that matter..)

Eat

Eating has continued to be a blast for this momma! We have now advanced to giving them small bites of anything and (almost) everything! They are super interested in what Jordan and I are eating and almost always want a bite (especially picky Parker- she wants a taste of EVERYTHING.)

Early this month we ventured to the world of baby puffs and began offering the girls more table foods- in super small or crushed up versions of them. We also started adding in more fruits now that we've made it through the bulk of veggies in the produce department. After realizing how much I was spending on 'baby yogurt' I opted to start

buying regular cartons of organic yogurt and portion it out myself. I can spend $4 on two days worth of the baby yogurt or spend $4 on a week's worth. Every little but counts in my book. I usually will offer it to them plain, or mix in a fruit puree I've made (blueberry or strawberry are favorites for the girls).

It seems like the feeding schedule is one thing we can't quiet get down to a science, but consistently we offer them a mid-morning and evening solid meal. After dropping the 4 am feeding last month, this month I started nursing them before I went to work around 5:30am. We continue to stretch the girls about 3 ½ to 4 hours between feedings, giving them 4 liquid feedings each day. At our 9 month appointment, I asked Dr. Butler about dropping the 'dream feed'. Basically I've continued to offer it before bed at night because I was unsure if they were getting enough. At 9 months, infants should be getting at least 30 ounces a day of breast milk or formula. Occasionally the girls wouldn't finish their bottles during the day while I'm away, so it always made me uptight if they were getting enough or not. Dr. B suggested we increase their bottles to 7 ounces and then after about a week we should drop that last feeding. Currently our daily routine goes a little something like this (and I can't promise it wont be different when you see their 10 month post in a couple weeks!):

5:30-6am: breast feed

8am: wake for the day- snack (puffs, toast, yogurt melts)

9am: 7 ounce bottle (or breast feed when I'm home)

9:45am-10am: fruit/vegetable and yogurt

10am-12pm: nap

1-1:30pm: 7 ounce bottle (or breastfeed when I’m home)

2-2:30pm: nap

5pm: breastfeed

6:30pm: (eaten between the two of them) 1/2 to 3/4 cup of oats mixed with 3-5 ounces breast milk and 4 ounces of veggies/fruit and more yogurt

The girls have been doing pretty well with eating the extra ounce in their bottles. Some days they scarf it down in minutes and other days it takes a little more work for them to get it all in. We have just decided that our girls aren't big eaters. They have a real interest in food and act as if they are ravenous when its time to eat, or they see me making their oats in the evening, which is great, but they just don't/can't/wont eat a ton. I'll be shocked if they advance much more than the 7 ounces in their bottles before their first birthday.

Sleep

These babies have fought sleep off and on this entire month. When they were teething early this month, it was a battle to make it through the night, but recently they have become quite the sleeping pros! Sleeping the entire night through has become more regular and how thankful this momma is for that. Bedtime is between 7:15-7:30pm and they'll sleep well until about 5:30am.. for two reasons. 1.) they wake up hannngry, and number 2.) Poop. Every. Single. Morning. Poop wakes them up- most of the time is it both of them, but ALWAYS Parker. Talk about regularity:) So, we eat and get a clean diaper and down they go until around 8am.

Naptime is consistent: Since they eat at around 5:30am and go back to sleep until 8am, their nap has gotten pushed to around 10am and they'll sleep until close to noon or 12:30pm and again between 2pm and 3pm until around 4:30p or 5p. Those naps are somewhere around 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours and of course we have the occasional 1 hour napper, but for the most part they get in a good solid nap at least once a day.

Sweet Parker Baby

Your Favorites: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, your monkey Wubanub, your paci (can't sleep without it!), chatting it up with momma, babbling and smiling, any toy that lights up or plays music, sitting up, morning walks, crinkle paper, the tags on anything, looking/touching the iPhone, the remote control, bath time, music and singing, playing in the mirror, hide and go seek, laughing at Daphnee through the back window, and most of all- cuddling.

Your Not-So-Favorites: Sitting and playing alone, being in your car seat for too long, loud noises,, the dark, being left out, getting dressed or diaper changes.

Food: avocado

This picture pretty much sums up your over the top personality. I would have never in my life ever thought I could have a 9 month old for a best friend, but truly I have found a best friend in you and your sister. I find myself belly laughing over your facial expressions and silliness over and over throughout the day and cannot get over how precious you are. I cannot wait to come home to you in the afternoons to hang out and have 'girl time'. You have grown up so much this month and it makes momma sad to think how quickly things are progressing for you and Jolie. I feel like tomorrow you'll be walking, and next week you'll be heading off to your high school prom.

This last month has proven to be a big one for you and your independence. You have gotten so much better at playing solo as well as with your sister or while mom and dad play with you on the floor. And let me tell you how proud I am of your sleep habits! You have learned to self-soothe and in the morning when it isn't quiet time to get up yet you will lay in your crib and quietly play with your monkey wubby or babble and eventually fall back asleep. I love to watch you on the monitor in the mornings I have to get ready for work- these small successes make momma oh-so-proud of you. When it is time to wake up you are so giggly and SO happy to see momma and dad. I LOVE going to get you out of your crib in the morning. Screeching and laughter fills the room the moment you hear the door click open. My heart swells and overflows with emotion and desire to just scoop you up and squeeze you tight. It is always too long since I had see you the night before.

Your separation anxiety has much improved and you now will smile and giggle with anyone that makes a glance your way. You even will fight to get out of my arms a time or two to check out whats going on and make sure you aren't missing a thing.

More and more everyday I see myself in you and it makes me tear up in excitement. Your daddy and I were looking through baby pictures and came across one of me with the same exact facial expression that you make all the time! It is real. I am your momma. Amazing. Love you.

Miss Jolie Bear

Your Favorites: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, reading books, frozen teether rings, anything that lights up and sings, smiling and laughing, conversations with momma and daddy (and now your sister, too!), crawling, climbing, and exploring, rough housing (Your FAVORITE to play rough with daddy), bath time and splashing the water, playing in the mirror, nap time.

Sweet Polie- how can I even express the joy you bring to my day? You are borderline Looney Tune and have recently picked up the nick-name Tweety Bird by your BB and me. You are so curious, and buy curious, I mean touching, feeling and tasting anything. I catch you more than once a day attempting to lick the floor, or the cabinets, or anything for that matter. What is it about that, silly? Again, Looney Tune and always the root of my laughter. You continue to turn into the most beautiful baby girl- I always get compliments from strangers about how beautiful you and your sister are, but people really swoon over you and your gorgeous baby blues. My perfect little beauty.

This month we started using the TOT collar in PT and you officially graduated to once a month visits with Suzan at Our Children's House. Just a little bit more to go before that tilt of yours is practically nonexistent and how exciting that it to look back and see how far you've come- You were once so weak and little bitty (4 1/2 pounds little bitty) and now you're a powerhouse of activity, advancement, and skill- growing like a weed! Lets take all that and focus it in on athletics once you are of age, yes?

You have definitely become more needy of momma and dad this month- almost like you and Parker switched places. Even though you are so super busy still, you don't mind to be held or sit in my lap for longer periods of time- and I surely don't mind! You've become very cautious of your surroundings and will assess the situation and will think a bit before flashing your toothless grin to just anyone. But, if a stranger is lucky enough to get that sweet smile, they are a puddle. You sure know how to melt me, Jolie Grace and I am so thankful God chose me to raise you up as my daughter. I love you so very much, sweet girl.

Jordan and I sure did get lucky with these two girls. Parenting is tough. Parenting twins is tough. Lots of decisions, lots of loving, and lots of wishing I had another pair of arms..

full disclosure: I occasionally use affiliate links in select posts to which I will make a very small commission if you, the reader, make a purchase after clicking those links. I hope you don't mind and I appreciate you reading my blog!